SO IF we’re supposed to be the smartest fans in the world, how come we’re always treated like morons?

In the days preceding Bobby Abreu’s trade to the Yankees, those New Yorkers who didn’t already know that Abreu is outfield wall-shy, were told – as Phils’ fans well knew – Abreu too often appeared to concede doubles on flies that could have been caught.

Yet, last Sunday, after the Abreu deal was announced, John Sterling gushed that Abreu is, “a very good outfielder.” And left it at that.

Friday, the Yanks, in a fight for first place, had a 54 lead in Baltimore when Kevin Millar led off the bottom of the ninth with a high, fading fly toward the right field corner.

Abreu, at first, seemed to give it a good go. But as he neared the foul line, he eased up. The ball fell foul by two or three feet.

Had Abreu made the catch it certainly would have been a very nice one, but nothing extraordinary.

He had room to make the catch without violently colliding with the wall. But he couldn’t make the catch, not once he quit on it.

On YES, Ken Singleton sounded as if we didn’t know better: “Good try by Abreu, but he comes up a little short.” Next, Singleton says over a replay:

“Abreu gives the effort trying to make a nice running catch.” Finally, perhaps knowing that we’d know better, Singleton threw in a dash of maybe: “It looked like he didn’t believe that he had that much more room to go, out there.” Well, maybe.

Regardless, the only two things that seemed clear were 1) Abreu could have caught that fly had he not quit on it, and 2) we’re not smart enough to have recognized.

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Hooray! CBS, over the weekend, proved that TV can allow us to watch the other leaders hit plenty of shots and still have time to show every one taken by Tiger Woods.

Not that CBS was without its silly Tiger tricks.

With Woods among five tied for the lead, Saturday, he was, of course, placed first on CBS’s leaderboard graphics. Vaughn Taylor, tied with Woods, was already in. For decades, the leader in the clubhouse was listed as the leader.

Wait a second. Is it possible that CBS thinks that viewers who might misread the graphic to believe that Woods is one shot back, would turn the channel?

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Watching and listening to a significant portion of fans, in Shea, Friday, demonstrate against Chase Utley for having the audacity to have hit in 35 straight, then to hear those fans erupt in joy when Utley was retired, hitless, in the ninth, made us ask, yet again, why the hell it had to get this way.

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Paul O’Neill’s transformation from indifferent TV analyst to someone much better continues. Saturday and yesterday on YES, it seemed as if everything he spoke was relevant and/or insightful, as if he now aims to please.

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Vernon Forrest, interviewed by Larry Merchant after a dubious decision over Ike Quartey, Saturday on HBO, thanked the Lord, his family and his friends. Merchant then reminded him to also thank the judges.

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Tim McCarver regards the quality start as a ludicrous stat. He evidently finds far more credibility in save stats.

Saturday, on Fox, he watched loser Jon Lieber go eight innings, allow six hits, walk none and allow one earned run. But why would McCarver want to distinguish that from a shellacking?

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CBS’s Lanny Wadkins would have us believe that any shot, 130 yards and in, that isn’t hit stiff, stinks … Lookalikes: Submitted by many – Tour de Testosterone champ Floyd Landis and “Jeopardy!” champ Ken Jennings.

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If I’m elected King, my first order of business will be to execute the goofballs at golf tournaments who scream, “You the man!” and/or “Go in the hole!” No last-warnings, no appeals; immediate, on-the-spot death.

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With the departure of Xavier Nady, gone, too, is a radio ad too absurd for satire. As heard on WFAN and ESPN-NY, as part of a special, limited time, one-per-customer offer, a collectibles outfit was selling Nady-autographed baseballs for the low, low price of $99 each.